~ The Ant Story ~

Sitting idle on a chair with my kids – laughing and giggling on our childish talks, I was made to realize and look down on a serpentine streak of ants marching towards a common goal. Headed by a presumably wise ant, which was bestowed by knowledge of sight and direction, the followers were just treading the shown way. Suddenly, one amongst them saw a grain of food (a small piece of biscuit lump) which was noticed and quickly attracted attention by the insect.

Now began the test of time, as the ant dissociated itself from the queue, she wanted others to join and take the food probably for their night fiesta, the problem being she could not do it alone for the sheer weight of ‘food’ was much bigger than her own weight. As ants are known for their patience and diligence of work, she began to probably ‘think’ and define her next plan to have this pie of biscuit at her dwelling during dinner. Suddenly we saw her racing back to her companions with a view of finding help and with a single-minded aim of lifting the crust and take back home.

 In quick succession, she was accompanied by 15-20 ants and all of them started to strive for a common result – how to move this piece of biscuit to a safer place – ignorant of the fact that the whole episode was being watched by big giants (Myself and kids).

During this feat, there were innumerable occurrences that the group of ants were swayed by exhaustion and stopped for longer times and probably take rest and start again for the better .After some time, the effort started to pay-off, the piece of biscuit started to move and after some time was taken in close vicinity to a small hole (1/2 inches in size).

Having arrived at its due destination, it was soon creeped by 100-200 ants which almost attacked the surprise bestowed on them – In no time the piece of biscuit grew small in size to be vanished in next hour. The whole story came as a big teaching for all three of us.

The ant had showed remarkable sense of observation and patience to enjoy a common goal through their effort in unison.

Other ants showed good sense of camaraderie and showed up strength and a combined sense of effort and direction to achieve a common goal. Their feeling of help towards each other, led by a principal Ant to show them direction made them achieve the almost impossible feat.

Another lesson learnt was, come what may, though slowly and steadily, the ants were able to achieve their aim with their single-minded focus, sense of leadership and working in tandem.

Penultimately, when the food reached its destination, every ant in the group rejoiced in unison and thanked and kissed each other for the common effort they had put to achieve the result.

I hope that the lessons which these insects have taught all three of us are kept in mind embark us on a journey of life – though such minuscule in their appearance, they taught us life’s best teachings which we can inscribe in our day to day life and live in accordance with our true self!

 

~ Football – The Game of Life ~

 

What became as my liking of an outdoor activity, Football as sport which I loved became my everyday binge. Hours were spent in sweating on the ground and besmirching clothes with mud.

But as growing up years were spend getting absorbed in the game, I unknowingly fell in love with the sport – so much so that I happened to think of serpentine moves and arcane tactics to score a goal. The next day and hour was thoroughly awaited to hit the ground. My Naani used to be precarious of the time when I had to step out, never to return for hours of sweat and toil not to forget the dilapidated condition of clothes and bruises on the body.

The key question being what football has to do with "NOW" when I have well surpassed the age one can play it with equal aplomb. The answer is ‘Football’ has made me the Shakespearean character that I am in the world stage. The game is a strong interlude of maneuvering passes and strict discipline. It makes an individual a strong and forward-looking thinker with an ability to think beyond the rational. It bestows on you a sense of ownership and teamwork, cascades along many boundaries to show your true character as a leader and a playmate.

Finally, it makes you ponder with the game you played and gives you an opportunity to ascertain your follies today – those selfish instances that you were close to the goal and by all possibility you could have scored had you given the past at the last moment to your teammate who was left unchecked and in a pole position. The best part of the sport at the end of those ticking timelines is the analysis which one gets into – with heated debates and no potential outcomes, the bond with the team gets cemented – you also get to know individualistic weaknesses and start to work upon them slowly and steadily.

As they say the passion never fades away, life comes back at different times – There have been many instances that you still shake a leg and dribble past this young generation (in a par nearby before the Pre-Corona Era). You test your agility with the skills of years you have acquired on the field. If not, you have left your position to be a forward (considering the demanding position it is), you can well equip yourself to be a center half and be a strategist and give formidable passes towards goal conversions. The rhetoric of passes, the deliberate fouls, the friction between players of opposite teams all still becomes the part and parcel of the razzmatazz, such is the charisma of this Game. I have realized that I am in awe with this game and it is the on top of my list of to-do things when I will next spot the street urchins playing at their usual self in the park. Afterall, age has nothing to do with your love of life – I love football and would continue too do so till eternity!

The best part of playing this game is when people ask “at this age, how you maintain your sprint, focus and quick thinking on the field?” My quirky answer is “The football does not know how old I am. All you need to do is to stop yourself to stopping yourself to play the game.” – I thank football not only as a game but shaping myself into a person which I have become today!

 

~ Voice of Silence ~

Adhering to certainty of time, my newly acquainted friends come without missing a minuscule moment, for they know it is their time to have a meeting with me on the sidelines of a everyday dinner. Nature has its own way of defining things, be it plants and animals, microcosms, all have a certain inherit intelligence within them and they act according to a dotted pattern.

The usual woof of my friends make me believe a connection towards them and gives me a sense of understanding and rapport. Our unspoken communication has a soul to know each other meanings and gestures. I know they are happy on seeing my glance and I feel the same emotive confluence for them.

With expected eyes and a wagging tail, they know that I shall be available on a particular time (usually late evenings) and at a particular place. Never in recent past I have found them missing or ditching my expectations. Their clairvoyance has passed my sense of understanding - our newfound bond of love surpasses keystroke affection which I have recently developed towards them.

Sometimes i find them missing during my usual day-walks passed my street, for they only come in the evening with a view of having their usual supper.

Our regular meetings started with a stroke of dinner leftovers which my wife asked me to keep outside our dwelling - having done so, I was quick to visualize unexpected guests to have their prized catch-Though they relished their feed -a guess which i made whilst i saw their waggling tail, it became a regular feature for me to cook a pie for them.

Notwithstanding a sense of immense satisfaction, gratitude and inner peace which I get daily, this routine has brought me close to the wandering canines around my place.

During this unprecedented hour, our unity of timelessness has taught us forth key life lessons of respect and mutual admiration of living beings around us – the support, assistance they need to survive and to exist in our surroundings and playfully show their resemblance in our surroundings is a blessing in disguise.

Now on the way of thinking a suitable names for them - one bitch and two grown up males, they would get used to the names giving over a period of time, for now let me dwell in cooking their next meal for that is what I started to cherish the most - not forgetting the expected wait for our new found guests!

~ Lakshmi – A True Soul Of Grit & Gumption ~

She had an effervescence personality and her demeanor was not like any other ordinary mendicant, she took to the streets due to the current happening which lead her to believe how important it was to study and stand on economical grounds and beat the penury of life she was in. Was she her parent’s best choice, a choice which shows them a great future and also move up from the uncertainties of what life offer them as of now?

A chance encounter In front of our office, she was passing through with her siblings and showing them the way as an ordinary trespasser, suddenly a chance eye contact with her made me inquisitive about her future and what she would be in life post the situation we all are in. All of tender age when others of her peers must be studying hard and living on comforts of their homes albeit A/C’s on, she was wandering through the streets of Delhi in order to find food for her family.

Suddenly, she stopped, and a conversation began with me, asking for alms or any other financial help if I could do, she came to the point. Seeing her predicament, I could not resist myself and did what I could have done as per the demand of the situation (though, I would like it to be out of scope in this write-up), she felt a little sense of confidence and started to answer my inquisition.

What is your Name?

Lakshmi” Was the quick answer.

Are these two (a boy and a girl – both of about 6-7 years of age) your brother and Sister?

“Yes Bhaiya”

“Where do you live and why are you roaming around in this scorching heat of Delhi summer?”

“We are in search of food and other alms, my father was a erickshaw driver and he is out of work due to current scenario and we are facing an economic ruin, I study in class 10 in a nearby Govt school and the onus is on me to fend for the family as my mother cooks at home and my father goes out everyday to search for a job and a possible income.”

“Do you want to study and what you want to be in life?

“Bhaiya, I want to just help my parents and by becoming a teacher or a Doctor, I would help them.”

From her weakened voice, I could sense the hurt she had gone through – whilst she begged for alms and other material gains to make her family survive, a severed dent on the self esteem of an enterprising soul – she could be termed a beggar by the raw mind.

Pondering more, I could see that she was bright student and confident enough to study and make a mark for own self and strongly believed that she could take her family out of the economic clutter they were in. The confidence in her vision and approach towards life made me believe the famous idiom “This shall too pass…”

Though in a fix of time, Lakshmi’s determination and valor was unprecedented and was par excellence, she held her head high and was determined to get her family out of this ephemeral situation.

 The last question –

“Lakshmi, will you study more and be something for your own self or will quit school and accept the anomalies of current situation?”

The answer stupefied me and my consciousness.

“Bhaiya, I will prove to my parents, that come what may, I shall be an honor for my family in future , for that I know this is a temporary passing time, I am a good student, only education can beat poverty of life.”

Suddenly, the communication broke and she started to leave in haste for other opportunities to secure her current economic uncertainty. The summer heat was not a damper for her to accomplish task she had partaken.

A life lesson well learnt by a street urchin – come whatever may , aim for your best as the situation may be temporary but your grit and gumption should be permanent. There are enumerable such Lakshmi’s out there who have suddenly found situation for their family as tough and have taken the jumbo step of partaking life’s challenges with equal opportunities with their parents – recalling a recent case when a 15 year old girl paddled her way to her hometown Darbhanga in Bihar, taking care of her ailing father. The excruciating journey of 1200 Kms shook the conscience of our Country and uplifted the resilience of having a Girl Child in the family.

As they say the “Need of the hour produces a Man…”, Covid1-19 has proved beyond doubt that we need to change and look at life in a different perspective altogether. A perspective toward having a humane ground, sensitive to the situation of downtrodden, being accommodative to their predicaments and this to be done without hurting the dignity, self-esteem and honor of those classes.

Let us all give them an equal opportunity and bring in them the confidence to live life on equal terms as we do and see for ourselves what Karma you have done whilst you exist in these uncertain times.

 

 

~ The Invisibles ~

Never before in my living past I had realized the monotony of living indoors.Keeping with the regularity of things to be done sometimes forsake your lackluster attitude towards things, but the trials and demands of the situation make you believe to carry on. 

It is this believe with which our day to day menial tasks which we hardly used to do ourselves come to the fore.Now that situation tends to ease out,I realized the meaningful power of the "Invisibles" which live along with us and have knowingly or unknowingly become inseparable part of our existence. Taking example of our garbage guy who comes knocking on the door every pristine morning without fail and asking for his 'Take' of garbage, I ask him about his general well-being and that what makes him come out of his home . The answers seems to perturb my rationality that everyone is immune to subjectivity of time - Sanjay has a Seven member family to feed - 5 kids and himself with his wife." Sitting at the comforts of his shanty wont feed them bhaiya" is the rational answer i get from him. I understand this harsh fact with practicality of current situation and thank him profusely for the everyday danger and sacrifice he bids on us for his day to day earning.

The second living example of the "Invisibles" which I would like to talk about is our street chowkidar - A guy not more than 45 years if age ,"Ravi" as he likes him to be called, roams around in our vicinity with his candor style and his high pitch of whistle makes his presence felt. Now a days he has lot of responsibility on his shoulders - from checking temperature to inquiring about any entrant in our block, the job demands much effort. Asking him about his family, he responds with a sense of responsibility - "Bhaiya, I have two daughters and parents and wife with whom i share a small room in our neighborhood". Being the only earning member of his family, he shoulders great responsibility to feed all of them at this time of uncertain times.Working for 10-12 hours for a day and exposing himself to high risk of getting infected, he makes sure that we remain safe and secure.

These living examples are just "Invisibles" for most of us as they remain just another working professionals for us and we hardly stop by to notice their inanimate services they render. As time is a good teacher, the best teaching which COVID-19 has taught us to honour these "Invisibles" for making our lives at peace with sense of security and comfort.

Thanks "Sanjay" and "Ravi" for your unending services everyday -though what many would say that it is their sense of burden of their family that they have to oblige, my answer to them is that they were qualified enough to move back to their home towns as they have their own secure dwellings their, but they choose to take up the challenge and cater to what they have been doing Pre-Corona era.

Penultimately, there would be many Sanjay's and Ravi's in your vicinity who are invisibles for us and we have never noticed them as they pass by, it is our duty to oblige and respect their presence in our life for which we remain so much strong and efficient in this dire times.

~ Covid-19 – A true dance of Destiny ~

So, what has been our most coveted learning of COVID-19, the question begets on very minds of people who have been engrossed in the daily rigmarole of life. Having ample time to think and evaluate the current situation we are in, my best instances about what I perceive could be an eye-opener to all of us.

We have been living as free birds in an atmosphere which we have all corrupted – see our natural resources – rivers, lakes, ponds, sea’s, Oceans and Air, all have been physically hijacked and made to suffer. Along with all what we have done, we have donned the hat of a demi-god and played flute in our own self decrepit capacity.

Now that we have enclosed ourselves under physical stay-in caves, nature is fast recovering and getting back to its pristine beauty. The rivers have turned blue, the Particulate Matter (PM) readings have gone down, sky has turned clear, we get up with sounds of birds and other of nature’s paraphernalia – In short nature has started to heal itself in its own way. The pain of loosing loved ones across the globe is synonymous with the hopes and aspirations of what has been left behind. It is only the magnanimity of time which will heal the wounds and put us all on a self-realization mode of our existence.

For the rest of us, staying indoors have been most incapacitated of our actions in living memory. We have devised ways of doing odd things to just kill time or for that matter shut up voices in our heads. We have fine-tuned our living and behavior and thus have started a rollover of measuring life from a different viewpoint. Some of them have unexpectedly discovered new talents such as cooks, bakers. For other’s it has turned out to be a blessing in disguise and they have found out time to stay and spend quality time with their old parents and kids. Many others never thought of themselves to be good moppets to their parents and have started living their childhood. For other, they have turned themselves to be good husbands doing odd jobs such as mopping, cleaning and the Sundry. Thus the saying “Every situation is an opportunity in disguise.” holds true till date and nature in its all mighty stance has proven this adage.

 As human race, we have been adoptive to challenges and this key methodology has helped us test of time. There have been many such occurrences in human history where we have defied our existence and its key challenges. This time too we will rise to the occasion and beat the COVID-19 situation which have been thrown at us, the only rider being that have we become better and more humane living beings?

The answer to this outright question would bear testimony to the upcoming challenges post passing off this scenario – till then all we need to do is to reminisce our past and do a hearty soul-search for what we want in life and what needs to be done to achieve that!

~ Create your Now Moment ~

In our journey of life, we have been landscaping our dreams and aspirations as and when they materialize, one word which all of us are intermittently thinking is 'Tomorrow'

What we always thought of as "Tomorrow" happens to be 'Today' and 'Now'. The unpredictability of life and time postulates one popular observation and that is Start living in Today, seize your 'Now' moment. Whatever you have been thinking of lately or in your life, try to get rid of it by executing it. Having done so, you would have satiated your senses to the brim and would not repent of not doing so if at all you come into a position of not able to do so.

 Life's mavericks have always pointed out to the have's rather than have-nots. Wisdom of life teaches equally to everyone and the rules of the game equates with your abilities to perform synonymously with what is expected by nature.

There are ample such examples which makes us believe that there might not be any tomorrow for all of us, big plans would lay un-materialized and in copious thoughts if not executed and implemented. 

Remember, you are liable for your own self not anyone else. The decisions taken so forth might bring results in an expected or unexpected way but the feeling of taking a momentous decision in a time frame would always give you a feeling of satisfaction that you took one!

Our To-do-List could be classified as according to the zeal it carries, from learning a new skill to getting enchanted to materialistic madness and thus buying your favorite bike, we all have thought of something or else that reaps our mind every now and then. Having thought so, we never factor various infirmities of life bounded by sudden occasions which might not make us reach our objective. 

A sudden melancholy which makes us incapable of doing great things which we have thought, our aspirations which have become bedrock of our living could be nullified by any mischief of life's play.

Our zest of quality of life makes us work hard and in between we forget to devote some precious moments for our own selves. This much we can deserve, for our living is not propounded by high imaginative targets which we have dedicated to ourselves and thus to achieve them, we are trying as hard as one can. Looking around us we find

Take a break, ponder over your thoughts and actions. Time memorial, actions which have engrossed you to achieve the un-achievable - was every achievement worth the effort you dedicated and was that achievement celebrated one? How long that pride of achievement lasted before your next target was set as 'Ready'.

The vicious circle of life will continue at its pace as it always does, till one day, standing in front of the mirror you would see your grayed color, wrinkled eyes and a deteriorated body showing you a true image of what you have done to yourself whilst you chased your endless targets and forgetting your own Now moments.

Concluding my thoughts, all I intent to portray is to use your power of self-thought and start doing things which you have always thought you would do. Create your 'Now Moment' and live your life extraordinarily with an expression that when you are gone tomorrow, you have no regrets of unfulfilled aspirations !

~ An Act of Minimalism ~

Sometimes dire situations make you ponder upon strange happenings. things which you might not have realized in life , which might come calling to you unexpectedly .

The current Covid19 lock-down is one such situation which suddenly happened to all of us. “Caught Unawares" as they say it, we all find ourselves quarantined in our homes by a government order as the only solution to beat this peculiarity of life. What this situation taught me and most of us was that you can be easily beaten up by a small microcosm and thus loose almost everything in knack of time. Your achievements both physical and intangible. Your fragility of life can be challenged at any moment as the case today.

But as they say every cloud has a silver lining and can make you learn far off possibilities which you might not every have thought of otherwise.

As this situation continue to happen, what became my share of learning was the act of 'MINIMALISM’. This virtue came to me as a "Eureka Moment" in my life and suddenly I find myself practicing this unique habit. What started as a search for a particular T-shirt in my cupboard ended me as a changed person. A man with a different perspective towards object lying in our homes, objects which takes you to a time when you have to remember as to when these were of use to you.

Starting from clothes we wear, the day to day utensils and other such items lying barely idle in our homes, there could be many such thought provoking instances which made you believe when you just wanted these object desperately enshrining your home decor but with passage of time these very objects have faded themselves in oblivion but now they stay lifeless just on neglected side of your home satisfying your ego.

I am not going back to time and plan to live a medieval life , the only intent of my embracing minimalism is to de-clutter my existence and free myself of unnecessary stack of objects which are of no or minimal use and which I can live without!

Our almirah's might be stacked with hordes of your best selected clothes which we had collected for differential occasions, but seldom we had got an opportunity to wear them. Same principle applies to zillion other things which might be close to our heart at those moments of time but now the need of the hour is to part ways with them, though might be with a heavy heart, but you know intrinsically that you would not be in a position to use them to your favor. Times have move us all forward to other more important things as most of us have tread various degrees of life's vicissitudes and now have taken ourselves to more important journey, the priorities have certainly changed...

Gauging my day to day life and what is that keeps me going during the day lead me to think parallelly about electronic junk which was of no use to me as I stay engrossed in my daily living. Time could be another factor which is a rarity nowadays and which has lead me to discard these lifeless electronic objects. But on a deep thought it begets my sense of understanding that these are actually not required now, and I would be quite happy to live sans them. There are zillion of other nitty-gritty of life's which demand your attention,who knows there could be another such time when humanity would again befall and have to cage themselves due to a microcosm attack as a greater grand design of nature and this time you are not lucky enough to survive !!!

Penultimately, it is certainly not the sense objects that need minimalism, our accumulated thoughts are another culprit which need a watch , the effort is on....

~ Not CORONA but KARMA ~

Today when all of us are entering an era when we can find our self in precarious positions viz a viz uncertainties of future. We have been severely downgraded by our own actions and are thus paying the price of many misadventures that we have done or are doing. "Sapiens" as we call ourselves and rest on the top echelons of the food chain, we consider ourselves to be Demi-Gods threatening an entire ecosystem of this beautiful planet.

Equality may be a fact which is less prevalent as according to our thinking, but nature has its own grand designs to justify things in its own fashion. The current "Corona" scare is a certain eyeopener for all of us who have a sense of pride and believe in inequalities of living. Today the war is not in the periphery of humanity but human existence, a war between homo sapiens who have been humbled and outcast-ed by organisms.

Can this be derived from the Curse of the zillion animals who have been killed in the name of food, for satiating our taste buds and our own economic greed? or Is this the curse of animals who perished in unstoppable Australian Wildfires? These can be merely inferences of the devastation which is on the cards for all of us if we don’t mend our ways of living and continuous engage in torture with our flora and fauna.

This can be truly considered to be Gods Act of balancing things, a strong hint for all of us to mend things and start living a righteous life. A life bestowed to us to coexist with the living and inanimate. We forgot the basic lesson and started to act our own way, as a result we are at the crossroads of our own destiny, a future of our own making!

For me this epidemic is not "CORONA" but "KARMA" the dance of the getting things settled via your past actions and inaction's. What nature is trying to teach us in its own mild and subtle way? Why are we not getting aligned with the messages from Nature missing a quintessential quality which has been ingrained in us "Humility towards All".

We have lost our touch with our wisdom masters who used to teach us the way of ancient living. The all bestowing “Ancient Wisdom” is the need of the hour and should be put to practice. We have to limit our desires which will lead us to sufferings. With this I ponder on this famous Sanskrit quote which has been profound in my living and am seeing in happening in the current scenario.

यद्यत्संद्दश्यते लोके सर्वं तत्कर्मसम्भवम् ।

सर्वां कर्मांनुसारेण जन्तुर्भोगान्भुनक्ति वै ॥

“Whatever is seen among men (whether pleasure or pain) is born of Karma (actions). All creatures enjoy or suffer, as per their past actions.”

Hope this brings us wisdom and truth amongst our living !

~ Its All In The Planets ~

Sitting and engrossed in my own worldly thoughts and passing my time over a Red light, I come across an unusual knock on my car window.
A sudden jilt passes through my spine as I come out of my daydreaming time, looking outside I visualize a street urchin looking quite emotively towards me and in expectation of something which I didn't knew.
The next moment, he uplifts his hand and brings forward a pot full of oil and a 'Iron" Image protruding out of bucket. After an aware peep, I could see that there were loads of coins of different denominations immersed in mustard oil.

The next sentence I hear is " Jai Shani Dev" and with expected eyes, the boy starts to look at me with a frivolous smile. Now that i start to have a hint of his expectations, I ask him some questions out of my own inquisition.

"What is your name beta?"
"Ravi" , comes the reply.
"Do you go to school?"
"Nahi Uncle - I don’t have time."

I stopped for some time and thought at his fragile age as he doesn't know what he is doing to his life, quite oblivious to a dark future which is waiting for him. My thoughts come to a halt again as he again asks me for some alms to be put in the bucket.

Another question which begets my mind was " Why he must have been doing this? What circumstances made him put in a situation which he currently is?". I probably wont be able to know answers to these questions ever I suppose.

I ask him one more question " Ravi beta what is this bucket for? and what metal image you have put in the bucket? what purpose does it serve?"

He had a ready made answer to all of my questions.
"Uncle - This is Shani Maharaj, yeh aapke kaam sudharenge."
"Aap paise daloge toh aapkae kaam sidh honge."

I asked him one final question " Kaun hai Shani dev? kya aapko pata hai?"

The answer came as a deep silence and quickly he went to another car as he didnt had so much time to stick to one "Customer".

The episode kept me thinking about Ravi and what stars behold for him in times to come,

Finally time never stops and this happened with me as well, as honk from cars behind get my attention, I gear up for the next Red-Light to meet another 'Ravi" with his side of the story...As they say , the Journey never stops....

~ Woman of Substance ~

She comes to our house everyday on a stipulated time, doing her daily tasks in a time bound fashion. Draped in a worn out Saree , she is a working woman by definition. As I see her fully absorbed in her circumstances, thinking and devoted to her job role, she says "Namaste Bhaiya".The revert is synonymous and is with equal fervour. I chance upon breaking a talk with her just out of inquisition and to know about her family - she is new in our neighborhood and was never seen before. On further inquiry, I get to know that she is partaking this "Job" out of self interest and for her two kids who I see standing down near her Rickshaw.

 I ask " What is the name of these two beautiful souls?" -
Pat comes the reply - "Bhaiya "Saurav and Gaurav" both are about 6 years of age.
As the conversation matures, another question props up in my mind " Do they study didi?" - The answer is "Yes", they do study in a "Sarkari" School.

Further she tells me " Bhaiya, I have full intention to make them educated as I am not, My only wish is to make them something out of all the hard work I am doing and ready for sacrificing myself for them!

A sense of belief in education is what she is striving for and why not as that is the best chance she has for her old age. The struggles of life has made her to be tough and vent out to earn and make a respectable living. She could have begged but "NO", the dignity of living gives her the power to respond to tough times. She will win for sure and would beat the circumstances which time is offering her, believing in a perfect saying " When life offers a lemon, make a lemonade!"
For the time being, I have two new small friends now, everyday they visit our home and go happy with an ear to ear smile... That is what was destined for myself and a teaching to follow...God work's in tandem with people around you in differential situations. Your test of time could start anywhere.
I certainly would love to see them grow and achieve the miraculous out of the situation they are currently in ...

By the way , the lady of honour is our Garbage Collector and She being a woman of substance has turned out to be an authentic life teacher to All of us...!